For an instant, Spike was split in two. He might have a soul now, but he was still a vampire. He struggled to keep his face from morphing. After a few moments he got himself under control and moved towards the girl. “What did you do pet?” He asked her softly. She didn’t answer. Instead she just kept sobbing. He leaning in to get a close inspection of her arm. The blood was still flowing slowly, but steadily, so the cut couldn’t have been too deep. He reached out behind him and fumbled for a towel. As he pressed it against her arm, applying pressure to stop the bleeding, he looked at her again. There was something familiar about her, like he’d seen her before, but there were no black haired girls in the house.
“What’s your name?” He asked her. For a minute he didn’t think she was going to answer, but finally she replied “Kaeleigh.” His brow furrowed- he’d heard that name before. “When did you get here?” He questioned her. Talking seemed to be bringing her out of her catatonic state. “This morning. We met in the kitchen. You had....liquor or something... ” She trailed off, staring at the long cut on her left arm. “You try this before?” Spike asked, nodding to the scar that she’d only just found herself a little while ago. “No.” She replied absently. “I don’t know how that got there.” He didn’t bother answering. The towel was dripping blood now, and it was all he could do to keep his human face. He didn’t want to scare the poor thing.
With an effort, he continued the conversation. “So why now?” As he talked, he lifted the towel off her arm and tossed it into the sink. The blood had stopped, leaving a long, shallow cut behind. He turned to rummage through the medicine cabinet for a moment. When he turned back around, she still hadn’t answered. Instead, she was focused on her wound. “Ian told me to.” She said mechanically. Her eyes were blank and distant. Spike shuddered. “Hey, look at me love. Whose this Ian chap?” He gently lifted her chin so that their eyes met and she couldn’t see her arm. “My watcher.” She replied and then, closing her eyes, she added “My dead watcher.”
Without thinking, Spike let out a deep growl. Kae gasped and jerked back. She suddenly remembered that this man wasn’t a man at all, but a creature, a vampire. And yet, here she was, helpless, bleeding, and he didn’t try to drink her. Instead, he was helping her. “Love, that wasn’t your watcher you saw.” He applied ointment to her cut, making it sting painfully. She flinched, then held still, determined not to look any weaker than she already did in front of him. She didn’t know why he didn’t bite her, but she want to tempt fate either. “What do you mean?” She asked, confused. He’d been wrapping gauze around her arm, but he paused. “I can’t believe that git of a Watcher didn’t tell you. The First can look like anyone that’s dead. It wasn’t you watcher, pet, it was The First.”
“The First?” She whispered the question, as if saying it to loud would draw it to her. Spike had finished with the gauze and was wrapping a final layer of cloth bandage around her arm. Tiny, almost unnoticeable tremors shook up and down her slight frame. She had been in a room with the most powerful evil ever imagined. For a moment, her fear was overtook by pure rage. How dare it wear Ian’s face like some toy? How dare it’s minions take his life and then use his image to taunt and goad her? The rage was quickly extinguished by fear again as she realized, it had almost worked. If not for the vampire...no, Spike. If not for Spike, she might very well be dead right now.
Spike was much more sensitive to things than humans were, so he noticed her body trembling. He could smell the fear and anger rolling off her. He pretended like he didn’t. No sense in embarrassing the doll, he thought to himself. “There we are.” He announced as he pined the end of the bandage in place. “Good as new. Well, maybe not new, but, best I could do, eh?” He smiled at her. Shakily, as if she’d forgotten how, she smiled back. Wrapping his hand around her uninjured arm, he pulled her lightly to her feet. His nose wrinkled as he looked at the rest of her. “We need to find you some new clothes.”
She glanced down sheepishly. Her front was covered in half-dried blood. “Stay here, I’ll bring you something.” As he turned to leave, Kaeleigh was overtaken with a panic. “No!” She cried. Startled, the blonde vampire turned back to her. “I mean....please don’t leave me alone. What if it comes back?” She pleaded softly, ashamed at her own terror. Spike walked back to her, and rummaged through the hamper. “Here love, these should work.” He offered her a decently clean pair of pajama pants and a black tank top that was, although badly wrinkled, fairly clean. He turned his back as she changed.
When she was done, she stepped hesitantly out onto the carpet. “Now what?” She asked. Spike thought for a moment before asking “Where are you sleeping?” She pointed down stairs. “The sofa.” She answered. Spike walked out of the bathroom, motioning for her to follow. Staying close behind him, she followed. When they reached the living room, they stood awkwardly beside her makeshift bed. Realizing that he was about to go, and leave her alone in the dark, all alone when that thing wearing Ian’s face might come back, she lapsed back into a panic. Before she could speak, Spike calmed her. “The sun will be up in a few hours. I’ll stay in here till then.” Without another glance at her, he slumped down into an armchair across the room. Grateful, she smiled at him again before slipping under the covers on her sofa.
Although one would think such trauma would keep a young girl awake, Kaeleigh had been through far more than she knew the past few days, and was out like a light the moment her head touched the pillow. From across the room, Spike thought of leaving now that she was asleep. Not like she would notice. He reasoned to himself. But, he didn’t stand. A promise was a promise. He didn’t want her to wake up in the night and be alone. She’d panic, and what’s more, she would hate him for leaving her alone. The little thing already had some obvious trust issues, and he didn’t want to be the one who made them worse. Why not? He mused. With a sigh, he answered his own question. “Because it’s the right thing to do.” He said so softly that no one else heard.
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